interstate road map and reliefs of the Buddha that span the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana periods. Bojjannakonda has

and reliefs of the Buddha that span the Theravada, Mahayana interstate road map and Vajrayana periods. Bojjannakonda has a two-storey group of rock-cut caves fl anked by dwarapalakas (doorkeepers) and containing a stupa and gorgeous carvings of the Buddha (some restored). Atop the hill sit the ruins of a huge stupa and a monastery; you can still make out the individual cells where monks meditated. Lingalakonda is piled high with stupas, some of them enormous.

Vijayawada is a busy, rapidly growing city and an important interstate road map port at the head of the delta of the mighty Krishna River. It s bustling, but it s also intersected by canals, lined with ghats and ringed by fields of rice and palm. The surrounding area is intensely lush and green.